Dead Canadian Found on Drifting Catamaran Off Coast of Belize

Belizean authorities have escalated their investigation into the drifting catamaran discovered earlier today in the country’s territorial waters, after new indications suggest that the deceased man found aboard the vessel may have suffered injuries prior to his death.  Initial reports indicated that the vessel had been located approximately twenty–four nautical miles northeast of the Turneffe Atoll. At the time, authorities confirmed that two individuals had been on board the vessel. A female passenger was reportedly rescued by a passing cruise ship, while the male remained on the catamaran, where he was later discovered deceased.  Investigators have since identified the man as a Canadian national after documentation recovered from the vessel, including a passport bearing the name Thomas David Harman of Vancouver, Canada.  Major (Retired) Francis Usher, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Defence and Border Security, provided an update on the investigation and confirmed that the case is now being treated with heightened scrutiny.

Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of National Defence: “We received a distress call from the MSC Divina, which is a cruise ship that found this vessel adrift in the water. There was a body on board, as well as there was a female in distress. We understand that the cruise ship took the female on board, and the vessel arrived in Caye Caulker this morning. It was towed into Caye Caulker, where the police department did their initial investigation. And I don’t want to speak on behalf of the police department so I’ll leave them to do their part. But what we do understand is that there were some apparent wounds found on the body. And due to that and the fact that there was a state of decomposition happening, the body was transported to Belize City. And the vessel was towed to the Coast Guard base to be secured for further investigation. The police are treating it as a potential crime scene. That’s correct. They are doing their further investigation to see what is forthcoming, what details are forthcoming.”

Reporter: Do you know if the son of the deceased has arrived as yet in Belize?

Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of National Defence: “My understanding is that he has arrived in Belize and he is in communication with the Coast Guard and the police department. And he is spearheading the arrangements to get his father’s body out of Belize and back home.”

Reporter: Would you be able to indicate why the police are treating the catamaran as a potential crime scene?

Francis Usher, CEO, Ministry of National Defence: “Well, the son indicated that his father and a female left Livingston about a week ago. There are apparent wounds on the body of the father and the female was in distress and boarded the cruise ship. So just to have further details onto what exactly happened, I think further investigation is necessary. The Coast Guard will secure the vessel as long as the police department needs to conduct their investigation. So, and we will play a supporting role in any way that they need, but this is primarily a law enforcement operation at this time.”

Officials explained that an alert regarding the situation had been issued roughly a day earlier. However, the notice was reportedly transmitted outside of Belize’s jurisdiction and was not immediately relayed to local authorities.  Officials from the Belize Coast Guard located the catamaran earlier today and began the process of towing it back to the mainland where a more detailed forensic examination can be conducted.  Rear Admiral Greg Soberanis, Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, also spoke on the agency’s role in responding to the incident at sea and the steps taken once the drifting vessel was located.

Gregory Soberanis, Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard: “On Monday, the Coast Guard received a notification of a vessel that was in distress. The coordinates provided to our operation center we were able to ascertain that the vessel that was in distress was outside of Belize’s jurisdiction. The vessel that was adrift came in contact with a cruise ship that removed or rescued the female that was on board. They were unable to take on board deceased individuals. And so the female was rescued and the deceased person was left on board and the vessel continued to drift. All this time the vessel was still outside Belize maritime jurisdiction. Early this morning the Coast Guard Operations Center received another notification, another E-PURB alert. This time the vessel was in Belize’s jurisdiction. We found out from a family member a private vessel from Caye Caulker to go and locate the vessel that was adrift. We mobilized, we have our San Pedro patrol forward operating base and we have our Calabash forward operating base. We were able to, the Coast Guard patrol was able to make contact with the charter vessel and the Coast Guard patrol then began to escort the vessel into Belize City Harbor. We have not been able to locate the woman that was on the vessel. However, we have made contact with the son of the deceased. He was the one who informed us that his father left Livingston a week ago with the female passenger on board and it was during that time that his father had the situation where he apparently passed away.”

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard says its priority has been securing the vessel and preserving the scene while assisting investigators as the matter unfolds.  Investigators are also expected to interview the rescued female passenger as part of efforts to determine what transpired aboard the catamaran.